Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #1

History

The series was created by writer Warren Ellis and artist Stuart Immonen, with the full run colored by Dave McCaig and edited by Nick Lowe, and ran for twelve issues from February 2006 through February 2007. Ellis originally intended to write the book for twelve issues and then hand it off to another writer, but the series was instead placed on hiatus after that initial run concluded. The often-repeated explanation — that Immonen's page rate made continuation economically unviable — has been publicly disputed by Immonen himself, who described it as a myth based on an offhand remark by Ellis. Notably, the book launched under the plain title Nextwave; starting with issue #3, Marvel retitled it Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E., a change Immonen attributed to trademark concerns.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First team appearance of the Nextwave squad: Monica Rambeau, Aaron Stack (Machine Man), Tabitha Smith (Boom-Boom), Elsa Bloodstone, and the newly created character The Captain.
• First appearances of H.A.T.E. (Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort), director Dirk Anger, the Beyond Corporation, the Broccoli Men, and the alternate designation Earth-63163.
• Creative team: script by Warren Ellis, art and cover by Stuart Immonen, inks by Wade von Grawbadger, colors by Dave McCaig, letters by Chris Eliopoulos, edited by Nick Lowe. Publication date: February 28, 2006.
• Marks the debut of Immonen's looser, angular cartoon style — a conscious artistic departure from his prior reputation for highly detailed, realistic superhero illustration.
• The series was structured exclusively in two-issue arcs, a deliberate formal pushback against the decompressed, event-driven storytelling trend dominant in mainstream comics at the time.
• This issue is the first appearance of Elsa Bloodstone depicted with red hair; she had previously been shown as blonde in her earlier Marvel appearances.
• Issue #1 was reprinted in a Director's Cut edition (April 2006, with recolored art and the official theme-song lyrics), in the Vol. 1 trade paperback 'This Is What They Want' (2007), in the Ultimate Collection paperback (2010), and in The Complete Collection (2015).
• The series won three Eagle Awards for work beginning with this first issue: Favourite New Comicbook, Favourite Comics Story Published During 2006 (issues #1–6), and Favourite Comics Villain (Dirk Anger).

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